Gruyère, Wild Garlic and Chive Soufflé

Name: Gruyère, Wild Garlic and Chive Soufflé
Total time: 1200 s
Yield: 3 - 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 30 g butter plus a knob for greasing the ramekins; 1 tbsp parmesan (or fine breadcrumbs); 30 g plain flour; 180 ml whole milk; 75 g Gruyere, grated; 20 g wild garlic, chopped; 5 g chives; 2 large eggs, separated; 1 tsp English mustard powder; few grinds salt; few grinds black pepper

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

‘Tis the season for ramsons (wild garlic) so I ventured out for a walk in the spring sunshine to pick some leaves and flowers from the hedgerows and returned via the herb garden to collect some chives that seem to prefer growing in the cracks in the paving nowadays. Small piece of gruyere, parmesan and a tin of mustard powder, perfect for soufflé.

Soufflé has likely been around since flour, milk, eggs and butter have been whipped up into different concoctions but the first record of its appearance is attributed to Vincent de la Chappelle who cooked for Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV.

Historically France and Switzerland shared the Gruyère name but in 1986, French Gruyère de Comté cheese was officially named Comté and in 2001 Gruyere was granted the AOC (appellation d’origine) designation as a Swiss cheese. Le Gruyère Premier Cru is a special variety and is the only cheese that has won the title of the best cheese in the world five times. It has a distinctive flavour but is not overpowering so is particularly good in quiches, scones, cheese straws and soufflé.

Colman’s Mustard has been around for over 200 years and has held a Royal Warrant since Queen Victoria’s reign. In 1901 Captain Robert Falcon Scott set sail on Discovery and headed for Antarctica. He took with him provisions of salt beef, penguin fillets and a ton a half of Colman's English mustard for flavouring. Good enough for the Queen and Scott, its defo good enough for my soufflé. #GlobalApron

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

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Ingredients

15 - 20 minutes

3 - 4 servings

30 gbutter plus a knob for greasing the ramekins
1 tbspparmesan (or fine breadcrumbs)
30 gplain flour
180 mlwhole milk
75 gGruyere, grated
20 gwild garlic, chopped
5 gchives
2large eggs, separated
1 tspEnglish mustard powder
few grinds salt
few grinds black pepper

Saved

Steps

15 - 20 minutes

1

Grease the ramekins with the knob of butter. (Gordon Ramsay advises to paint the butter on like varnishing a garage door, with upward strokes from the bottom up the sides then leave to set in the fridge for 30 seconds before painting again with the butter). I place a spoon of parmesan in each ramekin and roll around to coat the inside but you could use fine breadcrumbs or flour.
2

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C fan and place a baking sheet inside.
Melt the 30g of butter in a pan on low heat. Once melted, add a third of the flour and whisk. Add the remaining flour gradually and whisk until smooth. Cook for around 5 minutes until thick and biscuity in colour. Whisk in the milk gradually and cook until it thickens. Leave aside to cool for 5 minutes before adding the egg yolks otherwise the eggs will scramble.
3

Add the cheese, season with salt and pepper and stir in the mustard. Add the wild garlic. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and carefully fold into the mix a third at a time. Pour into ramekins, give a top hat finish if you wish and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve with a few ramson leaves and/or slices of tomato with a dash of balsamic vinegar